Bravery
by Godsliltippy
Summary: The boys have to teach a group of children what it means to be brave. Merry Christmas! See! I can write fluff :D


"Mister Gordon?" A small voice caught his attention and he turned from the slab of wall and metal framing that blocked the path. The blonde was already smiling as he crouched down in front of the child - no more than six years old.

"Hey, Emory," the girl's tear streaked face squirmed, her fears from their initial meeting replaced by a bashful hesitancy. "What can I do for you?"

There wasn't really much he could do without Virgil. They'd come in together - called out to rescue people trapped inside homes and buildings after an earthquake had rocked the city. The schools had been a priority, Virgil and Gordon taking the western quadrants while Scott and Alan to the eastern. One particularly unlucky school had collapsed, trapping a majority of the staff and children in the cafeteria. He and Virgil had managed to get that area cleared, save a group of Kindergarteners whose teacher had taken the brunt of a wall collapse, saving the seven kids entrusted in her care. Virgil had voiced an urgency to get her out to the waiting paramedics and Gordon had offered to stay with the frightened children. No sooner had the elder brother left, the rest of the building had caved in, sparing the group, but effectively blocking them from exiting.

"M'scared." Emory squeaked, echoing what was on all of their dirt smudged faces.

The weight of her words sent him to one knee, his eyes meeting hers as his hand came to rest on her shoulder. "It's okay to be scared, kiddo. My brothers and I get scared all the time."

This tidbit of information was something the children hadn't expected. It was the truth, though. Gordon might show a smile and confidence on the outside, but there was always that sense that anything could go wrong. Virgil tended to be the voice to that fear, but the aquanaut had lived it. The fear of failure was a tool to help them stay vigilant in their training.

"Really?" A boy - Isaiah - asked, green eyes wide behind his glasses.

"Yep! And that's what makes you brave." His smile softened. "Being brave means doing what you need to even when you're scared."

"My mommy says I'm brave when I go to the doctor even though I'm really, really, reeeally scared!" Isaiah added, followed closely by the other children squeamishly saying how awful shots are.

Gordon held back the chuckle that bubbled up, nodding instead. "Exactly! So, what do you think can help us all be brave right now?"

Small faces searched his own, as if they'd been asked for the answer to the meaning of life. The answers, however, tumbled one after the other as the fount of ideas tipped.

"Hug my mom."

"Hug my doggie."

"Eat candy!"

"Oooh! My doctor gives me lollipops!"

"Do you have lollipops?"

"Oooh yay! Can we have lollipops pleeeease?" More than one 'please' followed.

This time, he did laugh at the change in mood brought forth by his charges. "Unfortunately, I don't have any, but that's absolutely on the list to have added to my tool belt. What else?"

"Singing a song."

Gordon turned to the little girl - Mira - her voice quiet at the edge of the group. Immediately, he knew what he wanted to do and a goofy grin spread over his face.

"That's a great idea. Do you guys want to hear a song while we wait?" He watched the worry drift away as the group seemed to feed off of his enthusiasm. "Alright! Now, what song do we sing?"

"Christmas song!" Gordon didn't catch who shouted it, but he figured it was the likely option considering what time of year it was.

"Everyone want a Christmas song?" Lots of nods and smiles. "Alright, but not just any song. We're gonna make our own! Who knows the Twelve days of Christmas?"

Half the group raised their hands and he laughed, already pleased with how this was going. He could keep them distracted long enough for Virgil to get to them. Speaking of -

"Hey, Virg?" Gordon tapped the icon on his belt so that the elder brother's voice could transmit to the children.

"Yes, Gordon?" A subtle grunt let the aquanaut know his brother was busy moving debris.

"The kids wanted a Christmas song to help them feel brave. Feel like joining in?" Music was certainly one of Virgil's favored pastimes, but rarely did he sing for anyone outside the Tracy's inner circle. Mainly because he didn't get many chances. The question was only a courtesy. Gordon already knew the answer.

"Sure! What song?"

"Twelve days of Christmas, but we're making it up as we go." He gave the kids a thumbs up as they giggled with the idea.

"After you, then." Another chunk of building moved with precision.

Gordon felt his own giddiness build. This was his favorite part of a rescue - keep everyone calm. He was good at it and it made the difference between a hectic mission or a smooth one. Today, he had seven kids, weary smiles on their faces despite the world crashing down around them. He was more than ready to do his job."So, what's the first thing we got for Christmas?"

OoOoOoO

One more wall and Virgil would be through to the group of children and his brother and he found it somewhat serendipitous. They were on the final verse.

Gordon's voice rang through loud and clear, accompanied by bright, giggly ones as they tried to sing along with the two iR operatives.

"On the twelfth day of Christmas,

the whole world gave to me

twelve stinky socks,

eleven slimey frogs

ten fish in PJs

nine eggs a-cracking

eight wiggly worms

seven brave kiddos

Six sticky stickers

fi~ve lo~lli~pops!

four dino eggs

three green boogers

two fluffy unicorns

And a Thunderbird in a pear tree!"

As the sound of Gordon's over-the-top ending blasted through the comm to mix with his own, the last section fell away and their song doubled in stereo. The children cheered, clinging to Gordon with hugs and happy giggles. Virgil watched his brother tumble backwards with the momentum, his own smile plastered on his face and the elder laughed.

"Alright everyone! Let's get outta here!" Once Gordon was up, Virgil took point, the children walking in line behind him with the aquanaut at the rear. Even though the song was done, the kids continued to hum and sing, laughing as they made it to their favorite parts. They were being brave in a scary situation and Virgil knew it was his brother's doing. An invaluable trait as a first responder. Some days, he found himself wondering what Gordon would do to calm the frazzled victims and sometimes it just took a steady voice and a smile. Other times, it was a well placed joke. Today was new and fun and something he would treasure.

So as they climbed into Thunderbird 2, the children tucked into the waiting arms of tearful parents, he captured Gordon with one arm around his shoulders and squeezed.

"Good job today, little brother." Virgil released him with a quick ruffle of the blonde's hair and took his seat.

Gordon simply took the copilot's chair, a content expression slightly wavering towards the heartache of those who hadn't been as lucky. They all took loss hard, but it was the faces of the survivors that pushed them on. The children today were a bright salve to the sting of death.

Still, there was pain floating between them that didn't need discussing. Instead, Gordon drew himself back up with the whine of the VTOL, eyes front and center as he worked his magic. "Ya think we could grab some lollipops on the way? I move we make them standard equipment on rescues."

"Seriously?" A dark brow cocked in the younger brother's direction.

"Imagine how much easier it'd be to get people to stop talking and listen if they had a sucker in their mouth." Gordon turned mischievous eyes to meet the disapproving ones. "Man, we'd have to have giant ones for people like Lemaire. Fischler." They both cringed at the names.

"Hey, you clear it with Scott and I'll find the closest shop." Virgil reached into a compartment by his chair. "In the meantime time, we've got these."

Perplexed, Gordon held out his hand and accepted the red and white striped treat. He let out an excited squeak of recognition. "Perfect! You've been hiding candy canes?"

"No, these were left over from the last time you decorated in here." The raven-haired pilot shot his brother a glare.

"Ew, they're a year old?"

"Gordo, try Halloween."

"Oh yeah," the aquanaut laughed. "Forgot about that."

The candy cane snapped in half and unwrapped, Gordon sticking the looped end in his mouth before passing the other back to his older brother. Virgil was more than happy to accept it, enjoying the sweet mint that brought so many memories of hot cocoa nights on a Kansas farm.

It was the perfect end to a not so perfect rescue.


End file.
